Camp out

Carson has been asking Jeremy to take him camping for awhile now. He thought it best to have a trial run in the backyard. As a part of Carson's birthday we invited Jason and Will to come have a camp out in the backyard. So after the party on Thursday Jeremy and Jason set up their tents and had some "boys time" as Will and Carson said. It was adorable watching these little boys that night. They felt so special and had a blast with their dads camping. They were pumped and I believe will be talking about this night for years to come. The next morning the dads looked pretty rough but the boys were still raring to go! I went out back to tell them breakfast was ready and they said, "we don't need breakfast, we are camping out!" That didn't last long...they soon came in for some pancakes:)

Carson is 5

5 years ago Jeremy and I became parents to a healthy (and BIG) baby boy! I never knew how this little boy would change my life. He has been an absolute joy to us these past 5 years. It is so fun to watch him grow and mature and change with each year. He is a sweet boy with lots of energy and questions and is a sponge for information. He loves being with friends and playing outside. He is very serious and focused and yet has a silly side as well. I'm so glad that God, in His great mercy and love, gave Carson to us. What a privilege to be his mom! I love you little man!

This is Carson at about a week old

Birthday morning breakfast! We love you Carson!

Highlights from weekend

Tailgating with the Peters

Walking the nature trails at Botanical Gardens

Seeing the FINISHED project of our new facility

Playing in one of the new nursery rooms

The wonderfully big women's restroom

the commercial kitchen

Carson's Birthday Party

We celebrated Carson's Birthday this past Thursday evening. We had a great time celebrating our little man!

Amy gave Carson a new football jersey! Thanks Amy!

Will & Carson eating their pizza

Melissa and Lydia, love this picture!

We played pin the tail on the donkey which was pretty funny

Grammy brought this special candle with her and it was certainly showstopping!

Carson blowing out his candles with help:)

Opening his presents

We so enjoyed our time with Grammy this week. It means so much that she makes the long drive down to be with us and celebrate Carson's birthday with him! We love you Grammy! Thank you for coming to visit!

Grampa and Grammy gave Carson and new BIG boy bike. He needs some time and practice but he'll be riding it in no time!

It was a great evening celebrating Carson. When his friends left I was asking him if he had fun he said, "Mom, this was my best birthday ever!"

Freeing Cleaning Advice

One of my favorite blogs to visit is girltalk and they have recently been talking a lot about hospitality which has been challenging and encouraging. Those of you who know me know that I'm pretty far from being a "neat freak" and yet so want to grow in being a homemaker. It's easy to feel like the house is just never clean enough. Messes are made faster then I can clean them around here. I spend much time during any given day cleaning and picking up and yet the house still never feels clean. So, today when I was reading the girltalk blog I was so encouraged and comforted when I read this...

Here are some gems of cleaning advice I’ve learned from Titus 2 ladies in my church:

1. “What you can’t see from a galloping horse, don’t worry about.”

2. “If you’re coming to see me, come right over; if you’re coming to see my house, you’ll need to make an appointment.”

It's nice knowing that I'm not alone and a great reminder as to what is most important...people! Not that this is a free card to keeping a messy house but my main priority is certainly not to have a house that is spic and span at any given moment. So I freely amen her words..."If you're coming to see me, come right over; if you're coming to see my house, you'll need to make an appointment." Love it!

Have to share...

I was looking back over some old pictures trying to find pictures for a friend and found these and just had to share! Our babies are growing so fast.

Reese Finley, Carson & Sarala Gainor

This one cracks me up, Carson is licking Sarala's head

Reese Finley, Carson & Will Finley

Kate Crunkleton, Madeline Reeves, Reese Finley, Carson & Will Finley

Reese and Carson being little hams...love it!

A sweet tea party

About 8 years ago I bought a cute pink and green flowered tea pot, cup and saucer set in Miskolc, Hungary during our time on STINT in Kosice, Slovakia. When I bought this tea pot set I was dreaming of having a daughter one day and letting her use this tea pot as we enjoyed drinking tea together. So today was the fulfillment of a dream from 8 years ago as Bryn and I enjoyed a little mother daughter tea party together. Jeremy took Carson to the football game so I knew I had to think of something fun for Bryn and I to do...hence the tea party. I let her pick out the tea she wanted and the tea pot. I showed her all her choices and (of course) she chose the pink one! It was a sweet moment with my sweet daughter. I look forward to many more conversations over hot tea with both of my daughters.

Quick visit

We had a quick visit with our niece and nephew, Ava and Emet. I was glad to have them over since we don't get to see them very often. It was a whirlwind of a visit but fun! I was solo with 5 kids ages 13 months to almost 5...whew! Here are a few pics of our time with them.

Guilty

Church Work Day

This past Saturday we had a church work day. Many gathered at our new church site to plant shrubs and trees. It was so encouraging to see all the people who came out to serve on a Saturday morning. Simultaneously the preschool children were invited to come to the old fellowship hall to paint on canvas boards which will be used as art work in the new facility for the nursery rooms. It was a great idea and the kids loved it!

It was so fun watching their personalities come out as they painted. They were focused and serious...

Pastor Ken on the bulldozer... I think he was having fun:)

Our new church site

Bryn helping Daddy dig

Jason with a little entourage;)

Wheels!

Lately the kids have really been into their toys with wheels! Jeremy just put the training wheels back on Carson's bike for Bryn since Carson has a birthday coming up and just might be getting a bigger boy bike, so I hear;) It's fun watching Bryn get the hang of riding a bike. She is asking to go play outside a lot just so she can go ride the bike and tricycle.

Lydia recently started pushing things while walking. Won't be long before we have a walker...

Bryn doing circles on her bike...

Carson on the big wheel...